Page 100 of Not Part of the Plan
“I asked your permission,” he reminded her. “I would have shown them to you in advance, but I really wanted you to experience them as part of the whole.”
She did vaguely recall Niko demanding in the throes of passion that she allow him to use her images and was also fairly certain she’d shouted or sighed out “Yes, God” about a hundred times after that.
“Oh, Jesus, I’m not naked in any of them, am I?”
“Let me put it this way, you can’t see anything.”
“Oh, my God, Nikolai!” she hissed.
He grabbed both her hands, squeezed. “Emma, I would never do anything that I thought would hurt you. Maybe push you a little outside your comfort zone but never anything that I thought would really hurt you. Okay?”
“I’m not feeling inclined to trust your judgment right now.” She felt panic, slick and hot in her belly.
“How many pictures of me are there?”
“Five.”
“Five?”
“Too many or too few?” Niko asked.
“One feels like too many!”
Niko signaled the waiter and ordered another round of drinks. “Emma, please don’t make me tell you what an inspiration you are to me. It’s corny and embarrassing to have the ‘you’re my muse’ conversation.”
She glared at him. “And I wouldn’t buy it anyway.”
He sighed. “Please trust me. You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you.”
She wasn’t happy about it. But maybe having pictures he’d taken of her would lessen the sting of meeting a bunch of beautiful women he’d slept with. “For future reference, don’t ask me to make important decisions during sex. I’ll just say yes with no concept of what I’m agreeing to.”
A wicked grin lit his face.
“You sneaky bastard. You did that on purpose!”
“Are you mad?”
“I’m certainly not thrilled right now.”
He released one of her hands and cupped his palm to her face. “I’m sorry, Emma.”
She slapped his hand away. “Don’t try to charm your way out of this. I’m going to withhold judgment on how much trouble you’re in until after the show.”
“That’s fair.”
“How many of your ex-dates will be there, by the way?”
He grimaced as if considering it for the first time. “A few probably. Will that be a problem?”
Emma leaned in and traced a finger over the back of his hand. “Let’s just turn the table for a moment. How would you feel if I was taking you to an event where you would be meeting ‘a few’ of my ex-lovers?”
She had the great pleasure of watching the color slowly drain from his face and the tic in his jaw appear.
He swore quietly, and she smiled.
“Good. I’m glad we understand each other.”
He released her hands and pressed his fingers to his eyes. “I think I’m having a stroke.”
